The best revenge a short story
by cazbarbj
Summary: For all people who adore Skye


Background information. This story takes place after Jax walks out.  
  
"Hello Miss Barrett." I smiled as the woman in front of me turned to look at me with a questioning expression on her face. She wasn't anything like I had imagined when I came here. If anything, she was the exact opposite to her sister. Where Brenda was dark, Julia was fair. Brenda gave the impression of a flighty impulsiveness. Julia was the picture of the modern businesswoman. The greatest difference was in her eyes. Julia's eyes were as clear and honest as they came. Brenda's eyes held secrets. If I hadn't had her picture, I never would have guessed that they were related.  
  
"Hello. I'm sorry, but do I know you."  
  
Studying her, I decided that the direct approach was best. "We never met before." I held out my hand to shake hers. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Skye Chandler Quartermaine Jacks. I came here to talk to you about Brenda."  
  
"Are you related to Jasper Jax?"  
  
"I'm his wife."  
  
"Oh." I could see the disappointment in her eyes. "If you're here to ask me to intervene between Brenda and your husband, then I'm sorry, I can't. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Any influence I had over Brenda's actions, I lost long ago. And those two have a long history together. He loved her for a long time. He traveled this entire world looking for her."  
  
"Yes, it is a pity for her sake that he didn't find her before he married me, isn't it. I'm very well aware of the prevailing feeling around that Jax wouldn't have married me if he knew she was back. At this point, I'm not even sure if I disagree with all the doomsayers. But that isn't why I'm here. After three past marriages, I can honestly say that it doesn't matter what I do or say, my husband will do whatever he wants and find some way to justify the action. In fighting for him or not fighting for him, I'm always the one who is wrong. So I truly believe that there isn't anything you can do to save my marriage."  
  
"So why are you here if it isn't to ask me to come get Brenda away from your husband."  
  
"I have this annoying habit of seeing conspiracy theories all around me. When I get an idea in my head, I'm like a dog with a bone. When I listen to your sister's story, something just doesn't ring true about it."  
  
"Are you insinuating that my sister is lying about where she has been, Mrs. Jacks. If so, you know where the door is."  
  
"Are you saying that she never has in the past? Don't you find it curious that your own sister would let you believe that she was dead for four years? I would even go so far as to say that it was out and out cruel."  
  
Julia straightened her back, looked over at me and said in her best condescending tone, "My sister was held hostage by a mad man."  
  
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not arguing that point. It was quite obvious that she managed to get herself in over her head with a man she couldn't control. Alcazar's very behavior gave credence to that story. He is very much obsessed with her. I'm equally sure that she was looking for a way out. I just have a hard time believing that so many people could be so loyal to a woman who would be so cruel as to let everyone grieve for four year over her. From what I have been told, some of it from her own mouth, she was given every luxury at the beginning. Back in the days when she wanted to stay with him, she had free reign to go anywhere in the world, yet a little phone call to tell her only remaining relative that she was still alive was beyond her capabilities."  
  
"She's ill. Everyone knows that she inherited her mother's mental illness."  
  
"Oh yes, the mysterious mental illness. The great excuse that everyone has been using to excuse all her bad behavior. And could you tell me again what the name of this illness is again? Perhaps they named it complete and utter selfishness."  
  
"I don't have to take this. If you won't leave I will. I expect you to be out of my office when I come back."  
  
Skye blocked the door to her office. "You aren't going anywhere. Nor are you going to use any so called medical condition to excuse Brenda's behavior because I just at the clinic in Switzerland a few days ago. According to the test she had done two and a half years ago, the woman is in perfect health."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's not dying. She's not crazy. She just uses the illusion of illness to get everyone to excuse her extremely bad behavior. Here, Sit down before you fall down. You're too heavy for me to be picking you up from the floor." Skye guided Julia to nearby couch.  
  
"She's not sick?"  
  
"She's not sick." Skye confirmed.  
  
"Oh God, Someone needs to call Brenda and tell her. That bastard has been lying to her all this time. Who knows what kind of medication she has been taking."  
  
"Not so fast. No one is calling anyone. She isn't taking any hurt. If anything, she has my husband to distract her." I said dryly.  
  
"You can't be so cruel as to let her think that she is dying?"  
  
"I think that she already knows that she isn't dying. I'm sure that by know Jax has told her. Though, I intend to prove that she always knew that she wasn't dying. She stopped taking the so called medication the second that she was out from under Alcazar's thumb."  
  
"I'm telling you that my sister wouldn't do that. Alcazar told her that she was ill."  
  
"I don't doubt that. In fact, I bet that she told Alcazar about her mother's mysterious illness just like she said she did. I bet he took her to see the doctor two months later just like he said he did. Only the funny thing is, this all happened a year latter than she says it did. The dates on the medical files was fourteen months after her disappearance."  
  
"This is all nonsense. I don't even know why I'm standing here talking to you." So my sister is a little confused about the time. She was." Julia trailed off as she realized that she was about to say that Brenda was ill.  
  
"Exactly, she's not ill. As for the reason that you are still standing here, some of what I have been saying makes sense doesn't it."  
  
"Although I don't know you, I'm sure you stopped here to do more than try to plan doubt in my mind about my sister."  
  
"You're right. I'm here to offer you an opportunity."  
  
"An opportunity for what?" Julia said sharply.  
  
"I'm going to be looking into Brenda's story and past, much more closely. I'm inviting you along to keep me honest. I'm sure you would want the opportunity to defend her actions."  
  
"You want a witness."  
  
"Yes, among other things. It wouldn't hurt to have someone around who knows something about Brenda's past."  
  
"You just expect me to pack everything up and leave my job for however long and follow you around while you try to prove that my sister is a liar."  
  
Skye sat there and pretended to think for a moment. "Actually, yes. Come on, from what I have heard, you haven't taken a vacation in a very long time. In fact, from what your boss said, you have accrued two months worth."  
  
"You talked to my boss."  
  
"He was quite understanding. In fact if you call him, he will tell you to take the two months now. Go on. Pick up the phone and ask him. You know that you want to. You're just as curious as to what Brenda has been up to during those missing years as I am. I can practically see the questions turning around in your head."  
  
Julia picked up the phone and called her boss. After confirming that she did indeed have the time off, she turned back to Skye. "Okay. I will go with you on this insane quest of yours, but only because I want to see the look on your face when you find out that your suspicions are absolutely groundless."  
  
"That's fine with me. I don't really care why you choose to come, as long as you do come."  
  
"There is just one place that I need to go first. It shouldn't take long. Since you are out for the 'truth' about my sister, you can even come along."  
  
-- "Where are we going?" Skye asked from the passenger side of the car. When Julia didn't answer, Skye kept talking. "I have never understood why England drives on this side of the road when the rest of the world drives on the right. Did they do this just to be different or were they just trying to annoy the rest of the world?"  
  
"It has to do with history. Back in the days of the horse and carriage, if you were a peasant and you didn't want to get run over you avoided the side of the road that the royalty went down. England traveled down one side of the road and France was the same. They just traveled on the opposite side. So when roads were created, France started on the right and England on the left. Now the US, when developing their road system asked the French for advice. The French of course told them to always drive on the right. Other countries, like India, who were held by England, drives on the left."  
  
"So you are talking to me. Where are we going?"  
  
"Years ago, my dad's second wife, Brenda's mother, wanted a home. So he bought her one. It's a small estate with some surrounding farmlands. I need to talk to the estate manager about some changes that the farmers renting the land want to make. I don't know how I ended up with the place. I never lived there. I was at boarding school during those years. However, Brenda spent the first six years of her life there."  
  
"Why did they move?"  
  
"I'm not sure. All I know is that my stepmother has some big fight with Dad. She packed up some clothes and Brenda and started on a world tour. Dad was so angry that he never did go after her."  
  
"He just let your step-mother take off with your half sister?"  
  
Julia shrugged. "The next time we saw Brenda, she was 15. We had a phone call from some obscure police station in the middle of no where. Dad sent the family lawyer to pick up Brenda. He brought her home, told us that her mom was dead and stuck Brenda into a Boarding School."  
  
"That's kind of cold blooded, don't you think?"  
  
"What was?"  
  
"Sending the family lawyer?"  
  
"Dad was like that. Brenda once accused me of being Dad's favorite because he spent so much time with me. But the truth was, in order to get Dad's attention I had to put myself into his life. Brenda has never understood that."  
  
"You went into business to get your Dad's attention."  
  
Julia nodded. "Otherwise, like Brenda, I would have never saw him. He always had his head stuck in a business deal. Until I made myself into someone he had to deal with on business footing, he ignored me in the same way. It was like he didn't have any room in his life for anything that wasn't business."  
  
Skye nodded. " I understand that one completely. My family is exactly the same way. I spent my entire childhood waiting for the man I thought was my father to save me for the never-ending boarding schools and visits from the woman that I thought was my mother. I even managed to convince myself that the reason he didn't come was because he couldn't find me because my mother moved around so much. The truth was out of sight, out of mind."  
  
"I heard that you recently found out that you were a Quartermaine."  
  
"Did Brenda tell you that?"  
  
"Julia shook her head. No. I read the article they did about you after you took over ELQ. That was quite an impressive move. I didn't think that anyone could ever get the best of that cranky old man."  
  
"He is a crafty old bastard."  
  
"Him and Ned."  
  
"Oh please, Ned?"  
  
"Yes Ned. Watch out for him. He's a younger Edward minus a Lila to call him on his bad behavior. I was in business with him for a while. Ned decided he wanted the entire thing. When I wouldn't sell, he made it look like I was sexually harassing him."  
  
"Really? Stiff shirted Ned actually bent his so-called principles of fair play to go after what he wanted? What happened?"  
  
"Fair play? Ned? You have got to be kidding. Right about the time the pressure was really bad, Brenda went up to room, locked herself into the bathroom, took off her clothes, and screamed rape."  
  
"What? From what I hear, he and Brenda were like best of friends."  
  
"Yes they were. She was proving a point to him. He got out of it like he always does."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"I sold it and left town before he could do any permanent damage to my professional reputation."  
  
"Ned did that? Huh. Do you have any other tidbits that would help me with my family?"  
  
"Not at the moment. Here's the estate."  
  
As we got out of the car in front an old stone house, an older man in a suit and another man in farmer's overalls came out of the front door to meet us. Julia turned to the two men to greet them then turned back to me. "Skye this is my family's lawyer, Joe Cerview and Greg Manner, who runs the farm. Joe, Greg, this is Skye Jacks."  
  
Joe held out his hand and shook it in a firm proper grip. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Jacks? Any relation to Lord and Lady Jacks?"  
  
"Only by marriage." Skye replied. Skye turned to Greg as he took her hand and put it to his lips.  
  
"Such a beautiful lady." Greg briefly touched the wedding ring. "And married. Tell me he is not good enough for you so I can steal you away."  
  
"You compliments come rather easily. Is that a French accent?"  
  
Greg nodded. "I was originally hired to help with the vines."  
  
"Vines?"  
  
Julia nodded. "My father experimented with grape vines and wine making. There is a small vineyard among the farmlands. Greg oversees it all."  
  
"This is a very beautiful house."  
  
Greg nodded. "And it is quite young. It was only build 150 years ago."  
  
"I hate to interrupt, but we do have business to discuss." Joe said.  
  
Julia nodded. "Skye, if you would like, you could explore the house. The housekeeper could show you Brenda's rooms."  
  
Skye nodded. "I would like that. However, with your permission, I would like wander around the grounds before I go in. The gardens look very beautiful."  
  
"There is an old man who has been tending the gardens since he was a young boy. He literally grew up here. His father attended the gardens before him. When his father died, he took over." Greg said.  
  
"It is extravagant to keep a gardener for a house that no one really lives in anymore, but as Greg pointed out, he has been here all of his life. It is almost like he came with the land. Are you sure that you want to stay out here? This will take a few hours." Julia added.  
  
"I will come in later. I just want to take a look around first."  
  
"Suit yourself. I will let the housekeeper know that you are here, so she can let you in."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
---  
  
As Skye wondered through the garden admiring the flowers, Skye noticed an old man attending some of the vines.  
  
"If you like the flowers, you should look at the gardens at the other side of the house, miss," he said.  
  
"I don't know. I think that these are quite beautiful."  
  
"It is pretty, but this part of the garden won't come into its full glory for another month." The older man took a closer look at Skye. "I don't believe that I have seen you before."  
  
"I came with Miss Barrett."  
  
"Ah, yes. Miss Julia. A very polite young lady. The housekeeper did mention that she would be stopping by."  
  
"I decided to take a look at the gardens while she takes care of business."  
  
The older man nodded. "It is going to rain this afternoon. It is probably wise to look now while you can. Mrs. Barrett's garden has bloomed nicely this year. That is the garden directly behind the house. If you go to the far side of the house, Miss Brenda's garden is just starting to show its colors."  
  
"You named the gardens after Brenda Barrett and her mother?" Skye asked.  
  
"Mrs. Barrett was the only one who took an interest in the gardens. She designed the one behind the house. I have kept it exactly as she designed it."  
  
"She has been gone for many years."  
  
"It doesn't matter. Until someone comes along to tell me differently, I will continue to follow the layout she designed."  
  
"And Brenda's garden? Does she come to see it?"  
  
The old man smiled. "No, I haven't seen that child since she was six years old. Mrs. Barrett designed that garden so Miss Brenda would have a place to play. That garden has nice soft grass. None of the flowers have thorns or anything else that could harm a child. You could even eat the plants if you wanted to. There isn't a poisonous one in the bunch. Mrs. Barrett thought of everything when she designed that garden for her daughter. She put a lot of thought into it. It is a pity that they never came back. Miss Brenda probably doesn't even remember the garden after all the exciting places they went after they left."  
  
"Why did they leave?"  
  
"I don't know. It wasn't my place to ask. We sure missed Mrs. Barrett after she left. She brought life to this place. She was such a kind lady. She was always taking care of others. She even sent me some postcards from some of the places she visited."  
  
"She sent you postcards? You must have known her well."  
  
"I did most of the work around here. Mr. Barrett would leave her here during the week and then come home to her on the weekends."  
  
"She spent a lot of time alone."  
  
"I don't believe that she minded being alone. Mrs. Barrett was worried that her husband was missing their daughter's life. She used to have me take all sorts of pictures of Miss Brenda so she could show them to her husband. In the end, I believe that we saw more of Miss Brenda's firsts than her father did. Mrs. Barrett used to write to us and tell us how big she was growing. She would tell us everything from her first date, her friends, what schools she was going to, to the day she got glasses. Of course, all that stopped after the accident. I always thought that it was a pity that she never came back here so we could see how she turned out."  
  
"Really? Did you share these with Mr. Barrett?"  
  
"No. We tried once. I believe that Mrs. Barrett hurt his pride when she left. He didn't want to hear about them. That is probably one of the reasons she wrote to me. She wanted to share her daughter's life with someone."  
  
"Do you still have them? The letters?"  
  
"Of Course. I kept everything."  
  
"Could I see them? I was thinking of putting together a small surprise for Brenda since she returned from the dead."  
  
"You know Miss Brenda?"  
  
"She is a friend of my family."  
  
"It was such exciting news the day we heard that she was still alive. We were very happy for Miss Julia. If you would like to see the letters and photos, I live in the gatehouse. We could go there now."  
  
"Thank you. I would like that."  
  
As Skye walked to the gatehouse with the gardener, they exchanged names.  
  
"Here it is, Miss. Skye." Jeffery the gardener said as he handed her the box of letters and photos.  
  
Skye started to pick up a few letters and skimmed them. "These are so wonderful and there are so many of them."  
  
"Mrs. Barrett was very through. They go right up to the day of the accident. At the time we thought that she was killed in the accident. We found out later that she was institutionalized. They said that the accident was caused by her illness."  
  
"You don't sound like you believe that."  
  
"Read those letters. She was writing every week. Do they sound like a woman who was mentally ill?"  
  
"Can I make copies of these letters?"  
  
"Actually, I already have copies. I gave copies to all the servants. It wouldn't take long for me to pull them out."  
  
"Thank you. I would like that." Skye reached down and pulled out a photo. "Is this Brenda?"  
  
Jeffery looked at the picture in her hand. "Yes. Wasn't she the cutest little girl? She had such pretty eyes. I never understood why she went to contacts."  
  
"She wears contacts?"  
  
"She has to. According to her mother's letters, the girl is nearly blind. Then she went and got those colored contacts. You can see that the eye color is very different." Jeffery pulled out a couple of pages that had been pulled out of a magazine. "The housekeeper used to pull Miss Brenda's magazine ads out of the magazines. You can see that the eye color is different."  
  
Skye looked at the picture and the ad. "You know, they tend to do things to ads that changes the color."  
  
"They do?" Jeffery looked at the ad and the photo. "She changed so much. Even her hair is darker."  
  
Skye looked at the photos again. "You are right. It is. But that is what hair stylists are for."  
  
Jeffery handed her a folder. "These are all the letters. I even put in a couple of pictures. I hope that this helps you with your surprise for Miss Brenda."  
  
"I'm sure it will."  
  
---  
  
"How did your meeting go? Did you clear everything up?" Skye asked Julia as she came out to the car.  
  
"Everything here is done. So where are you dragging me off to on your pointless quest?" Julia asked.  
  
"Do you know what school Brenda was sent to after she came back here?" Skye asked.  
  
"Sure. It's not very far away. We could drive there."  
  
"Let's go."  
  
---  
  
"Hello Ms. Headway. Thank you for taking the time to see me." Skye said as she sat down in the principle's office.  
  
"It is always a pleasure past students. Especially the ones who have done so well like Julia. But since neither of you have children and you say you don't have any issues with any of the students currently here, I'm a little confused about why you are here."  
  
"My friend here was looking into my sister's history. She thought that you might be able to help her fill in some of the blanks." Julia said.  
  
"You are interested in Brenda Barrett?" the principle asked Skye.  
  
Skye put on a big fake smile and said, "Well, she has led such an interesting life. She traveled around the world with her mother until the accident where she was led to believe that her mother was dead. She became a famous model. Then she disappeared for four years and led everyone to believe that she was dead only to resurface with a dangerous international arms dealer. It is the sort of life that would look great on paper."  
  
"You are a writer?"  
  
"I have never written a book before, but the story behind Brenda Barrett is just to tempting to but down. There is so much action and drama to it. It could be a best seller. I however don't know quite where to start it."  
  
"I would be happy to help anyway I can. Especially since you have the support of her family." The principle said nodding toward Julia.  
  
"I was curious about Brenda's first year here. I don't know anything about her schooling prior to her coming here. How did you know where to place her?"  
  
"Miss Barrett had a private tutor. According to the files that her tutor sent me, she was quite advanced in many subjects. We were very excited to have her."  
  
"So she had good grades here?"  
  
"Well, no. She had a hard time adjusting when she first came here. She was obviously acting out. Grief sometimes affects a student's performance. It took her a couple of years to calm down and settle in."  
  
"She took her mother's death hard."  
  
"That and the death of her best friend."  
  
"Her best friend died?"  
  
The principle nodded her head. "It was a true tragedy. Alice was a student here. She traveled around during the summer months. That is how they met. She was so excited when she heard that her best friend was coming here. She was telling everyone about her."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"She drowned the same day that Brenda arrived."  
  
"Drowned?"  
  
The principle nodded. "It was a freak accident. She must have fell asleep on the rowboat. The boat had a leak. She drowned."  
  
"That is so sad. Is there anyway I could talk to some of Alice and Brenda's friends? And I would also like to talk to her tutor. Can I have her name?"  
  
"Well, I can give you some of the names of the girls they were close to, but I'm afraid that I don't have any current addresses." The principle pulled out a yearbook and opened it to an old photo. "This is Alice. She was good friends with Maple Jenes and Rachel Wrights. Brenda tended to spend her time with Carry Shiner and Margaret Hamilton."  
  
"Brenda didn't hang out with Alice's friends? I would have thought that they would have turned to each other for comfort."  
  
"No, they didn't seem to get along at all. Brenda avoided them." The principle pulled out another file. "Here it is. Brenda's tutor was Cristal Pulcity."  
  
The phone rang and the principle picked it up. After a few moments, the principle hung up. "Well, I am sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have an emergency on the playground. One of the students fell out of a tree and broke her arm. I have to take her to the hospital."  
  
"Thank you for your time. You have been very helpful."  
  
"If you need anything else, please call."  
  
---  
  
"Do you want to tell me why exactly we are looking up all these people from Brenda's past? I thought you wanted to explore where Brenda has been these last four years." Julia complained.  
  
"I do, but for some reason, this feels important. Besides, Brenda might have contacted one of these girls."  
  
"You really think you will find them on the Internet. Wouldn't it make more sense to hire a private detective?"  
  
"Spoil sport. If I need to, I will. But so far, Maple Jenes and Cristal Pulcity died about the same time as your father. Carry Shiner has an address in South America. Margaret Hamilton and Rachel Wrights either have disappeared from the map or don't do anything that would capture attention of any of the address books on the Internet. That is an amazing accomplishment."  
  
"Oh it can't be that hard."  
  
"Watch this." Skye clicked on the keyboard and brought up a few search programs. Within five minutes Skye had Julia's email address and few minutes after that the search engines brought up where she could be contacted at work. All Skye did was punch in her name.  
  
"I can't believe that it is that easy."  
  
"It helps that I know where you are so I can click Julia Barrett when it comes up. But even if I didn't know, it wouldn't take long to eliminate the other Julia Barretts from the list by looking at their profiles."  
  
"That's scary."  
  
"That's the future."  
  
Skye clicked on the keyboard some more.  
  
"What are you doing now?"  
  
"Getting us two tickets. It's a long flight to South America. I hope you don't mind flying first class."  
  
"As if anyone would ever mind flying first class."  
  
"This Carry Shiner is our only lead at the moment. She is as good as anywhere to start. While we are checking her out, we can hire a detective to find the other two."  
  
---  
  
"Hello, Miss Shiner. I was wondering if I could talk you for a moment about Brenda Barrett?" Skye said.  
  
"Does she have the money to replace the boat she wrecked?" Carry asked angrily.  
  
"I don't know." Skye answered.  
  
"Until she has the money to replace the boat she wrecked, I don't want to hear any apologies."  
  
"I'm not here for Brenda Barrett." Skye replied.  
  
"You just said that you were her to talk about Brenda Barrett."  
  
"I'm looking for information on her whereabouts over the last four years."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't trust the story she has been handing out."  
  
Carry laughed. "If you did trust anything that came out of that woman's mouth, you would be a bloody fool."  
  
"Have you seen her in the last four years?"  
  
"Sure, she stopped by one day four years ago and practically moved in. She was here for about a year. Then she set her sites on this guy. What was his name? Oh yes, Luis Alcazar. He was in town throwing money around. She so badly wanted to get his attention."  
  
"What did she do?"  
  
"She found out where his boat was then she took mine out and sunk it so he would have to save her. Beyond a phone call to tell me what happened to the boat, I haven't seen her since."  
  
"That was three years ago?"  
  
"Yes. She owes me a boat." Carry said.  
  
Julia swore. "That must have been hard on you. You had to nurse her back to health only to have her repay you by sinking your boat."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Brenda was in a car accident four years ago." Julia replied.  
  
"I don't know who the hell was in that car, but I can guarantee that it wasn't Brenda. She was in perfect health when she arrived here. There wasn't a scratch or bruise on the woman. We went out partying every night. Until she sunk my boat, having her here was a blast. When you see her, tell her that she can't come back until she coughs up the money for the boat."  
  
"Don't worry, I will." Julia said with a grim look on her face.  
  
--  
  
As Skye and Julia walked back to their hotel by the airport, Julia looked like she wanted to hit something.  
  
"I surprised that you aren't screaming I told you so."  
  
"Why would I do that?" Skye asked.  
  
"Because my sister is an uncaring lying bitch." Julia replied. "You were right. My sister was lying. Not only that, she wasn't in the car with her mother that night. I went to the site where the accident happened. There is no way that someone could come through that completely unscarred."  
  
Skye smiled. "I will admit. This trip did prove half of my point."  
  
"What else is there?"  
  
"I need proof that she knew that she wasn't ill. We don't have that yet. All we have is that she wasn't with Alcazar that first year."  
  
"You want to keep digging? You have got to be kidding! This wasn't bad enough for you?"  
  
"There is something more out there Julia. I can feel it."  
  
--  
  
"Well, this is the address." Julia looked back at Skye watched as she yawned. "If you need some sleep, we could do this tomorrow. Rachel Wrights isn't going anywhere. According to your detective, she has been living here since she graduated."  
  
"What I would give for a cup of coffee. No, we are here now. We might as well talk to her. There is just one thing that I would like to know first. How in the world do you come off of an eight hour flight into another time zone looking freshly pressed and completely alert?"  
  
Julia laughed. "Experience. I traveled around for my father for two years. He would send me to all sorts of business meetings. You can't show up looking less than perfect. I just got used to it. Don't worry, I'm sure that it will catch up to me latter. Shall we?"  
  
"Go for it."  
  
Julia pushed the doorbell. A few seconds latter we heard footsteps and the door open to reveal a very handsome man. "Yes?" He asked.  
  
"We are here to speak to Rachel Wrights. Is she here?"  
  
He looked us over. 'Well you don't look like the typical door to door salesman. Even if you were, I think that I might still let you in.," the man said while ogling Skye's legs. "What in the world do you want with her?"  
  
"We need to speak to her about some past classmates of hers, Alice and Skye," Julia answered.  
  
The man's face turned from flirtatious to absolutely grim. "Not that subject again." He sighed. "Can't you people be here to talk about something else?"  
  
"She talks about them?" Skye asked.  
  
The man rolled his eyes. "The great crime of the century, it's a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. Come in. Maybe if she has someone around who is willing to listen to her nonsense, she will give it up."  
  
"Thank you." Skye said as she and Julia followed him into the house.  
  
"Rachel, there are two ladies here to see you. They even want to talk to you about you're favorite subject," the man said in a sarcastic tone before walking out.  
  
The woman that the man had referred to stood up to meet them. "You came to see me? I'm sorry, but I don't believe that I know you."  
  
"We are here looking for leads into Brenda Barretts's past."  
  
A self-satisfied smile spread across Rachel's face. "Finally, someone who will listen. Sit down. I will tell you what I know to be true."  
  
Skye and Julia sat down across from Rachel. The woman continued to talk. "I was never able to prove it, but I know that Brenda killed Alice."  
  
Julia looked shocked it this statement. "If you were never able to prove it, why would you think that she did it."  
  
"Because Alice was the only person there who could identify her for the fraud she was. Alice was the only one who knew her. She had pictures in her room of her and Brenda. They were the best of friends. The day of Alice's accident, after the accident those pictures where gone."  
  
"That's it? Just because the pictures where gone, you assume she did it?"  
  
"Not just that. Brenda was there before the accident. Another girl in our class saw her and told her that that Alice was so excited that Brenda was there. My friend Maple Jenes was in the hall with them. She saw the look on Brenda's face. Brenda didn't have a clue who she was talking about. That other girl went on to tell her where Alice's room was and where Alice was. Brenda knew where Alice was. She didn't have an alibi for her whereabouts for the time period in question. Her excuse was that she was lost in the halls."  
  
"Everyone believed her?" Skye asked.  
  
"Are you kidding? You should have seen the performance that girl gave when they told her that Alice was dead. I would have believed it if it weren't for the fact that I had seen the pictures in Alice's room. That girl calling herself Brenda wasn't her."  
  
"You couldn't prove it." Julia said.  
  
"My friend Maple thought that she had something a few years ago."  
  
"It turned out to be nothing?" Julia asked with a slightly hopeful tone in her voice.  
  
"We will never know. She died on her way her to tell me about it. Her breaks gave out and she crashed."  
  
"Accidents like that happen."  
  
"A week after she had her car serviced? I don't think so."  
  
Skye could see that Julia was about to come to Brenda's defense. "Well, thank you for your time. We will be going now." Skye grabbed Julia and pulled her out of the house.  
  
"Can you believe that woman?" Julia fretted.  
  
"Actually, I can." Skye said.  
  
"You can't honestly believe that Brenda is a murderer. Sure she has done some bad things. I'm even willing to believe that she would lie to cover up her selfishness. But murder?"  
  
"And Brenda doesn't wear glasses." Skye said with a thoughtful look on her face.  
  
"What in the world are you talking about?"  
  
Skye pulled out a file from her case and flipped through it until she came to a certain paper. "Read this."  
  
"What is it?" Julia asked as she took the sheet.  
  
"It is a letter from Julia's mother to the gardener at that home you took me to. She sent him quite a few. That one describes how near sighted she was."  
  
"What? Brenda has perfect vision."  
  
"This Brenda does."  
  
"Oh, come on. You can't honestly believe that someone showed up at this school and took over my sister's life. She would have been shot out of the water when the real Brenda showed up."  
  
"Not if the real Brenda couldn't show up. Think about it. Who would have known? When was the last time that you saw her? You found out latter that Brenda's mother was institutionalized. What if something happened to you're sister and this other woman stepped into her shoes? Who would have been able to tell the difference?"  
  
"She wasn't institutionalized under her own name." Julia said.  
  
"Brenda's mother?"  
  
Julia nodded. "It is the reason they gave for not contacting us after father died. They were still being paid for her. But how could that be if father died. If he had her put there, he would have been the only one to know what name she was put under. But they were still being paid for her long after my father died."  
  
"What happened during that accident? Do you know the details?" Skye asked.  
  
Julia shook her head. "No, but I do know where it happened."  
  
"I think that is where we should go next. Don't you?"  
  
--  
  
"Thank you for being so cooperative, officer." Skye said flirtatiously. As she sat down, Skye raised her skirt a couple more inches, crossed her legs and leaned back. "I was beginning to think that we would never be able see the file on my friend's accident."  
  
"While our clerk was correct in saying that it's not our country's policy to allow just anyone to look at the files of our old cases, I don't see the harm in answering a few questions about an accident from so long ago. Especially when the company is so pleasant."  
  
Julia rolled her eyes and Skye smiled. The officer opened the file.  
  
"Let's see. It was a two-car crash. One woman was dead on the scene. There was another woman and a teenager who were critically injured. And of course you're sister was the lucky one. She just had a few bumps and bruises, although she was shaken up at the time. She couldn't recall where she was staying."  
  
"We were wondering what happened to the other three woman." Skye said.  
  
"Brenda Barrett identified her mother's body. I believe that Mr. Barrett paid to have her buried in a local cemetery. The older woman slipped into a coma. She was identified a few days latter and moved to an institution outside of the country. The teenager was a Jane Doe. She was in a coma for a few months. The doctors at the time didn't give her much hope. She did eventually wake up. Unfortunately, she had amnesia."  
  
"What happened to her?" Julia asked.  
  
"She was turned over to social services. I don't know what happened to her from there. Oh, here is a picture of her."  
  
"Thank you very much for your time officer." Skye said as she took the photo.  
  
"Any time." The officer replied as he watched them leave.  
  
Skye and Julia made it outside of the building before Julia sunk down to the steps.  
  
"Oh God. She did it didn't she? She took my sister's place. "  
  
Skye sat down next to her. "She probably didn't even realize that your sister survived the accident."  
  
"She identified this other woman as her mother, my step-mother. She knew exactly what she was doing."  
  
"Julia look at me. Look at me. Somewhere out there, your sister, your real sister is alive. We will find her."  
  
"What kind of life has she had? It was stolen from her."  
  
"We will find your sister. We will put the evidence together and we will make that imposter back in Port Charles pay for what she did. Identity theft is a crime. All we have to do is find your sister."  
  
"How?"  
  
"She was a Jane Doe turned over to Social Services. I say that we go try to claim her as family."  
  
"I am family."  
  
"Exactly, how could they resist returning the prodigal child to her family. If that doesn't work, you can distract them while I search the files. Deal?" Skye held out her hand.  
  
"Deal." Julia answered as she took Skye's hand.  
  
--  
  
"That wasn't hard."  
  
"I told you that they would want to reunite her with her family." Skye said smiling. "They are even setting up the meeting."  
  
"Did you see those photos?"  
  
"Yes I saw them."  
  
"She looks so much like her mother, it almost hurts. Except for the glasses."  
  
"She's a professor at a University. That is something you can be proud off."  
  
"I am. I'm going to meet my sister."  
  
"Yes you are."  
  
"Then I'm going to kill that b***h back in Port Charles."  
  
"Now, now, don't be hasty." Skye soothed.  
  
"She stole my sister's life. She probably murdered those girls from school."  
  
"We may never prove that she committed the murders, but we definitely have her on identity theft. I was thinking." Skye paused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, I talked to AJ and he says that Jax and our imposter are planing a wedding in about a week. We are obviously going to have to stop them from getting married because among other things, she would be marrying him under the wrong name. It is after all the right thing to do when someone marries under false pretenses."  
  
"Of course we couldn't stop it before the wedding started." Julia replied.  
  
"I do deserve a little revenge for when Jax walked out on me. One week should be just enough time for the blood test to come through and to build a case against her." Skye said.  
  
--  
  
One week latter Skye entered the church in Port Charles where once upon a time she and Jax had said their vows. It was yet again, beautifully decorated. Only this time, a woman this town called Brenda was going to be the bride. 'Well, not for long.' Skye thought as she looked around the room.  
  
"Skye, I'm not sure that you should be here." Skye heard her father say from behind her.  
  
Skye and turned around and smiled at one of the members of her family who had stabbed her in the back since Brenda showed up in town. "Hello father." Skye even when over and kissed him on the cheek. "I see that you are doing well."  
  
"Skye, I'm serious. I don't think that it is appropriate that you are here."  
  
"Why not? I'm not the only ex Mrs. Jacks in this room." Skye said pointing to Alexis.  
  
"I don't want you causing trouble for Jax and Brenda."  
  
"Unlike how they caused trouble and heartache for me? Don't worry, father. You have my promise, my solemn vow that I will sit quietly through the entire ceremony today and not life a finger to stop anything that happens. I just need to be here Dad. I need to see it happen."  
  
Alan smiled at his daughter. He walked away happy, mistakenly believing that it was the wedding that she had to see.  
  
"Oh poor father, I won't have to do anything to stop this wedding." Skye muttered under her breath. Skye looked around. "Now where am I going to sit." As Skye looked around for the perfect spot, Ned spotted her. Skye's self-satisfied grin made him extremely nervous.  
  
"Skye what are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh, Hi, I remember you. You were the best man at my joke of a wedding. Actually, from what I hear, you were also the best man and Jax and Alexis's joke of a wedding. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you're the best man for this joke of a wedding too. As for what I'm doing, I'm looking for the seat with the best view. I envy you're spot in this circus. It's going to be the best show in town today."  
  
"How about out the door and a couple of blocks down."  
  
Skye smiled, the police station was just down the road a couple of blocks. "No, that's going to be the second best show today. This will be the first and definitely the most entertaining. Relax Ned, I promise that I will sit in this chair and not do or say a thing in the next few hours to stop this wedding."  
  
"Why doesn't that sound reassuring?" Ned muttered as he walked away. He considered having her kicked out but something about what she said about not doing or saying anything to stop the wedding rung true. "It's almost like she knows that something else is going to happen." Ned said to himself. He considered telling Jax, but he didn't want to spoil Jax's day. In the end, he just warned Jax that Skye was in the audience.  
  
Ned started to breathe a sigh of relief when the wedding started without any interruptions. He and Jax held their breath momentarily when the priest asked for any objections. Skye never said a word.  
  
Everything was going as it should be until it was Jax's turn to say his vows and stopped the wedding. When Jax said that he wouldn't marry Brenda because she had been kissing Sonny the day before their wedding, everyone was shocked. But not half as shocked as when the police came rushing in a moment latter to stop the wedding, everyone was speechless.  
  
Brenda started screaming that it was an elaborate conspiracy and pointed to Skye. After all, Skye was this town's favorite scapegoat. Before anyone else could lay the blame at Skye's feet, Julia came forward and decked the woman.  
  
"Don't you dare blame Skye for something you did. You stole my sister's identity."  
  
"That's not how it was. You don't understand. It wasn't my fault."  
  
"How dare you. You told everyone that you were Brenda Barrett when the real Brenda Barrett was in the hospital and desperately needed our families love and support."  
  
"She was in a coma. She was going to die. What good was the Barrett name and wealth to a dead girl? Wasn't I a good sister to you? Did I support you're decisions whenever possible? Why make you grieve for a dead girl when I could be the sister you needed?" The imposter yelled out.  
  
A woman came up from behind her and said, "Except I didn't die you b***h. I survived the accident. I will be taking back my name and inheritance that you probably have squandered."  
  
Brenda became very pale as she laid eyes on the young woman. "You lived? How can that be? The doctors said you wouldn't."  
  
"I think that we can use that as a confession. That was so kind of you to say that in front of so many witnesses Miss Barrett, or whatever your real name is. You are under arrest." The officer cuffed the fake Brenda and read her rights to her.  
  
Back in the corner, Skye watched it all. Eventually the crowds began to leave. Skye went up to Julia and the new Brenda and said, "Thank you. That made my day. What do you say we go out and celebrate?"  
  
"You, I knew that you had to be behind this somehow." Edward Quartermaine.  
  
All three women turned to look at the old man. "So, who's the jerk?" Brenda asked.  
  
"No one important." Skye and Julia said at the same time.  
  
"So where are we going?" Julia asked.  
  
"I own a club. I got it during my divorce."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me." Julia and Brenda said.  
  
The three new friends left the church to celebrate. 


End file.
